Josh Howard is an idiot....Again.

[ManUp]

Wow you guys are taking it as if he meant it seriously.

He's stupid for saying it, but he obviously said it to get some kind of laugh out of the people there.

[bucknersrevenge]

Wow you guys are taking it as if he meant it seriously.

He's stupid for saying it, but he obviously said it to get some kind of laugh out of the people there.

That's exactly he point. He's NOT serious. It was a joke. And he's a joke.

[jgod213]

all you have to do is listen to the rest of his ramblings to understand he was just spouting off ignorant nonsense...

after he declares that black people don't "celebrate" the national anthem, he goes on to say
"Obama '08 and all that s***"

So basically, after stating that an entire race doesn't or shouldn't respect the ideals/heritage of the United States, he goes on to voice his "support" for Obama. 

There are a lot of black men who have died or who are currently at war right now, who are fighting or have fought so that people like Josh Howard can go make their $10 mill a year.  i'd like to see if Josh had the balls to stick to his "opinions" in a room full of service men...something tells me he might bight his tounge.

As Dennis and Callahan said this morning regarding his Obama comment, "at least he got the year right."

[The Walker Wiggle]

I initially had zero interest in this story. But the level of condescension in the media's response, along with their usual tempest-in-a-teapot perspective, have swung me into the Josh Howard camp.

There was humor to it. Millions of dollars don't change certain feelings. People are deluding themselves if they believe Howard is alone among pro-athletes in any of his opinions.

If I were a Mavericks fan I'd dismiss it out of hand, this doesn't even rate versus the domestic violence, assault, animal abuse, reckless endangerment, and on and on, that sports fans, Celtics fans included, have to reconcile with/ignore.

[LarBrd33]

Meh.  It's a 12 second clip out of context of Josh Howard messing around with his friends.  I'll give him a pass.

To me, it didn't sound like that was a reflection of his actual personality.  The tone of his voice (and the laughter from his friends) gave me the perception that he was just briefly "playing some character" to joke around with his friends.  Someone turned on a cell phone cam and he decided to say something ridiculous to crack his friends up.  That kind of humor just reminds me of one of Dave Chappelle's characters.   

If you took the worst 12 random seconds you could find in any conversation I have with my friends and posted it on youtube, I'm pretty sure we'd come across as massively racist bigot flag burners... or... gay for each other.  Depending on which conversation you happened to bop in on and what kind of sarcastic absurd ridiculousness we were spewing at each other. 

[incoherent]

I laughed when I heard what he said. It was legitimately funny, he was blatently really stoned as well. I'm sure him and his friends thought it was funny too.

Why people are finding it offensive I do not understand.

Everyone needs to lighten up.

[Redz]

I laughed when I heard what he said. It was legitimately funny, he was blatently really stoned as well. I'm sure him and his friends thought it was funny too.

Why people are finding it offensive I do not understand.

Everyone needs to lighten up.

OK, let's assume you're at a ballgame.  During the national anthem the guy next to you is talking trash the whole time and generally not showing a whole lot of respect for the flag or the anthem.  You, or someone seated near you, asks him to shut up and show some respect and he responds with what Howard said. 

Would that be funny?

[incoherent]

I laughed when I heard what he said. It was legitimately funny, he was blatently really stoned as well. I'm sure him and his friends thought it was funny too.

Why people are finding it offensive I do not understand.

Everyone needs to lighten up.

OK, let's assume you're at a ballgame.  During the national anthem the guy next to you is talking trash the whole time and generally not showing a whole lot of respect for the flag or the anthem.  You, or someone seated near you, asks him to shut up and show some respect and he responds with what Howard said. 

Would that be funny?

I don't think the scenario your making up in your head is what actually happened to Josh Howard. He appears to be standing away from the crowds hanging out with his friends behind the scenes somewhat.  I dont think anyone asked him to be quiet while he was talking into his or his friends camera making jokes.

However I will still answer your question.

I would not be telling anyone to be quiet. I'm not that person, when in a stadium of thousands of people I will never waste a second of my life bothering to 'shush' someone. 

When I watched the video I laughed and if I heard someone say that next to me with good enough comedic timing it would be still be funny. 

I live in Maine and there are not many black people here but I have 1 black friend and he is hilarious so I can just imagine him saying this I would find it funny.

[Redz]

I laughed when I heard what he said. It was legitimately funny, he was blatently really stoned as well. I'm sure him and his friends thought it was funny too.

Why people are finding it offensive I do not understand.

Everyone needs to lighten up.

OK, let's assume you're at a ballgame.  During the national anthem the guy next to you is talking trash the whole time and generally not showing a whole lot of respect for the flag or the anthem.  You, or someone seated near you, asks him to shut up and show some respect and he responds with what Howard said. 

Would that be funny?

I don't think the scenario your making up in your head is what actually happened to Josh Howard. He appears to be standing away from the crowds hanging out with his friends behind the scenes somewhat.  I dont think anyone asked him to be quiet while he was talking into his or his friends camera making jokes.

However I will still answer your question.

I would not be telling anyone to be quiet. I'm not that person, when in a stadium of thousands of people I will never waste a second of my life bothering to 'shush' someone. 

When I watched the video I laughed and if I heard someone say that next to me with good enough comedic timing it would be still be funny. 

I live in Maine and there are not many black people here but I have 1 black friend and he is hilarious so I can just imagine him saying this I would find it funny.

No doubt a different context, but my main point is, it is the National Anthem and when it's playing stop whatever the hell you're doing and pay some respect.  And someone did bring it to his attention - which is what prompted his remark.

I've definitely cracked some joked around friends or picked fun at something I would never joke about in mixed company.  It's called having some discretion.  The guy was on camera and is in the public eye (not playing cards with the fellahs or something).  His "joke" was ill-timed at best...

[incoherent]

If I had a job that forced me to listen to the Nation Anthem around 100 times a year I would probably not take it very seriously either.

[Redz]

If I had a job that forced me to listen to the Nation Anthem around 100 times a year I would probably not take it very seriously either.

Then learn how to fake taking it seriously.  Even if it doesn't mean much to him, he could have some respect and understand that it means a lot to others.

It's just a stupid thing to joke about (if that's what he was doing) and a stupid time to say it.

It's like making Jesus jokes out loud at a church sermon or something.

 

[incoherent]

If I had a job that forced me to listen to the Nation Anthem around 100 times a year I would probably not take it very seriously either.

Then learn how to fake taking it seriously.  Even if it doesn't mean much to him, he could have some respect and understand that it means a lot to others.

It's just a stupid thing to joke about (if that's what he was doing) and a stupid time to say it.

It's like making Jesus jokes out loud at a church sermon or something.

 

I don't encourage anyone, even NBA players to be robots and feel and act ways they don't want to because it's against the norm.

[Redz]

If I had a job that forced me to listen to the Nation Anthem around 100 times a year I would probably not take it very seriously either.

Then learn how to fake taking it seriously.  Even if it doesn't mean much to him, he could have some respect and understand that it means a lot to others.

It's just a stupid thing to joke about (if that's what he was doing) and a stupid time to say it.

It's like making Jesus jokes out loud at a church sermon or something.

 

I don't encourage anyone, even NBA players to be robots and feel and act ways they don't want to because it's against the norm.

Not saying people shouldn't be individuals. There are ways to be respectful while still expressing individuality.  Clearly Howard hasn't figured out that fine line.

[JSD]

I have a question for all...

Why is he an idiot?

To me he is not an idiot for his beliefs or what he said...

Without vigilance he displayed his "beliefs" in a manner that could be damaging to both his public image, the Dallas Mavericks and the NBA as a whole...And for that he is an idiot.

He is not only an American citizen he is also an individual who represents the NBA every time he walks out the door of his $15 million dollar home.


Lets not get it twisted...

[soap07]

It's like making Jesus jokes out loud at a church sermon or something.

Really though? When you are at church, you have chosen to go to that sermon and are presumably religious. I'm as patriotic as the next guy and I don't have a choice whether the national anthem is played at every sporting event I'm at or not.